How does a computer generate random numbers?

Question

Are they truly random?

Answer 1

Random Numbers generated with computer program is psedo random numbers. You usually provide a seed value to get the ramdom number. e. g. you call RAND(5) 5 is seed. You got make this seed random as for as possible. To make seed Random You can set its value to sum of the digits of the curreny system time or some thing like that which cannot be decided at the design time.

Answer 2

It's usually not random. Your computer uses what's called a PRNG, a pseudo-random number generator. There are several strategies to make the results more stochastic. One is the use of an algorithm like mersenne twister or yarrow to start with one or several numbers and produce an unrelated number. The numbers that start the algorithm off are called the seeds. Sometimes the seed is created based on a random number generated when the process generating the numbers shuts down. Sometimes random numbers are gathered from a unified source, since the action of getting a random number from a source changes the next number, so with many processes accessing the same source of random numbers, the number returned becomes more random. In other words, if you have a button with a counter that shows how many times the button has been pressed, and people pressing it somewhat randomly, then the number displayed at any given time will be harder to predict. One strategy for generating far more random numbers is using unrelated activity, like the time measured between key presses on a keyboard. For truly random numbers, there are some very very complicated strategies like measuring radioactive decay with a geiger counter (which is random on a quantum level). The reason that people go through such crazy lengths for random numbers is that cryptography keys are generated using random values... if the values are somehow guessed then the key has been broken. Also, gambling sites put great stake into generating truly random numbers, so many use hardware random number generators.

Answer 3

Possible, in theory. Computers generate "psuedo-random" numbers by running a complex algorithm on a "seed number", which then outputs a final result (generally a number between 0 and 1). The secret is in the seed number. Assuming you fed the *exact* same seed number in to a computer multiple times, you'd get the same result each time. However, the seed number is constantly changing - typically, the number of seconds since Jan 1, 1970. You'd need to mess with the internal clock (or whatever is generating the seed number) in order to fool the machine - which would typically be *rather* noticeable.

Answer 4

Most computers nowadays have a direct link to Suffolk UK.
There will be 2.000.000 assorted and flavored numbers send into a rebuild 1938 Empire-Tool-shed-Scrambler XZtt. The device is being maintained by Penfold the III. Anything this guy touches is scrambled into oblivion x 3. Any number you get out of this machine will be undecipherable for eons to come.

Answer 5

No they are not random at all, a very complicated formula generate the randoms, Fourier thingy is part of the formula but it is much more complicated itself.

If you did study standard C you will know that by heart, it does not seed by timer unless you do it explicitly.

Answer 6

Usually there is a ran program that has an algorithm (uses a formula) to pick "random" numbers. But that obviously isn't exactly random. Then there was "ranran", but as long as an algorithm is involved, I don't know how it could be considered trurly random, but then I don't believe in random anyway. There's a pattern in there somewhere....

Answer 7

Easy, all you need to do is smash the computer to pieces with a sledge hammer and then count the bits.

Answer 8

Mathematics are attempting to defeat chaos. If we only knew enough...... we could......

Answer 9

They are suppose to be ; but who knows.